1001 Inventions tells the stories behind the inventions that shaped human history, from the first stone tools about 2.6 million years ago to the technology in your pocket today.
What you will find here
- By Era: seven periods, from Prehistoric to the 21st Century
- By Topic: medicine, communication, transport, energy, computing and more
- Technology Today: AI, gadgets, electric vehicles, space and green energy, and the older inventions they grew from
- Geography: where inventions began and how they travelled across trade routes and borders, with a special focus on India
- Tools and the Invention Finder: free research tools and a quick way to search every article
How we write
Each article follows one invention through time and across the map. We research from museums, encyclopaedias, academic papers and primary sources, list those sources at the end of every article, and credit every image. When historians disagree, we tell you.
Get in touch
Found an error or have an invention you want us to cover? Visit the Contact page.